[TO THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."]
SIR,—Some friends having been much impressed with the extraordinary vividness of a dream which I had in January of this year, have asked me to send you an account of it. In my dream I was a guest in a country house, and walking in,a beautifully terraced garden with a charming woman, a fellow- guest and perfectly new acquaintance. Our talk was entirely on philosophical and religious subjects, ending with a dis- cussion of heaven and a future state. Suddenly my new friend turned to me with a beaming face and said : "I think these lines express my idea better than my own words can-
' Heaven is a place where souls in joyous struggle
Strive in a conflict which is perfect peace.'"
I asked : Who wrote that ? " She answered : "Frederic Myers." I awoke with as distinct a remembrance of the garden, the woman's face, the whole talk, and the lines quoted as if all had actually happened. I committed the lines to memory at once and related the dream at breakfast the next morning. I may add that I have never read anything by F. Myers, either verse or prose, nor could I recall having seen his name mentioned in anything I had been reading. Had the non-existent lady of my dream read those lines in a non- existent book, or where do they come from ? I disclaim any personal responsibility for them, though, paradoxical as they sound, they certainly embody my idea of what a future state may be like, should there be one. But I have never expressed my views in any such form, and the lines came to me as an
entire surprise.—I am, Sir, &c., L. W.
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